BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Minor League Baseball might be coming to Northern Brunswick County.

REV Entertainment and the Texas Rangers have reached out to the Town of Leland about the opportunity of bringing knowledgeable sports activities group, ballpark, and leisure venue to the world.

While that is nonetheless preliminary, members of the Rangers group and REV Entertainment have already traveled to Brunswick County to tour the world and meet with potential companions.

Following that go to, group leaders and personal stakeholders from our space traveled to Arlington, Texas to go to Globe Life Field, Choctaw Stadium, and the Texas Live leisure complicated.

According to Town of Leland emails WWAY requested earlier this week, REV Entertainment is proposing a smaller model of Arlington be constructed on a 1,400+ acre piece of property alongside Highway 17 subsequent to Brunswick Forest, which is a part of the deliberate Jackeys Creek improvement.

REV Entertainment and the Rangers have been in Leland the week earlier than Christmas to carry info periods with elected leaders and employees from Leland, Brunswick County and surrounding municipalities.

According to a PowerPoint presentation from the data session, the proposed stadium’s capability is 4,000 with slightly greater than 1,700 obtainable parking areas. There are 400 extra areas offered for surrounding combined use improvement.

The website wouldn’t solely host a minor league baseball group, however numerous occasions and concert events like Arlington, which has bars, eating places, and music at their venue.

According to the emails from city officers, the baseball stadium is proposed to be a publicly owned facility that’s privately operated by way of a lease settlement. That means, a countywide municipal bond will probably be required to fund the stadium.

If permitted by Brunswick County Commissioners, the referendum for the bond might be positioned on the November 2023 poll.

REV Entertainment’s proposed timeline reveals, if the bond is permitted, groundbreaking could be held within the Spring of 2024, with opening day March of 2026.

WWAY reached out to the Town of Leland, Town Council and Brunswick County for remark. The Town of Leland emailed the next assertion:

“We are excited to have interest from REV Entertainment to work together with both Brunswick County and the Town of Leland to develop a world-class development concept with sports and entertainment as the anchor. We look forward to learning more about their interest and developing a potential partnership in the coming months.”

The baseball group will spend money on the leisure, eating places, and lodge venues adjoining to the stadium, as much as $100 million. The group may even get the possibility to offer enter on the facilities related to the stadium and would even assist model the group, Leland Town Manager David Hollis wrote in an e mail to employees.

That similar e mail addressed elevated site visitors surrounding the stadium. Hollis stated that might be mitigated by roadway enhancements as the event is constructed out over time, which would come with interconnections with current roadways in neighborhoods and industrial areas, further connections to Highway 17 and Highway 133, and different enhancements as required from site visitors engineering research.

Hollis additionally wrote that this location within the northern finish of the county is most popular by the baseball group due to the separation from different comparable venues and the untapped and rising market all through northern Brunswick County and New Hanover County.

REV Entertainment already has a foothold in North Carolina. The firm manages the Down East Wood Ducks in Kinston and the Hickory Crawdads.

WWAY reached out to REV Entertainment concerning the proposed plans. The group offered the next assertion:

“REV Entertainment is thrilled to work together with both Brunswick County and the Town of Leland to develop a world-class development concept with sports and entertainment as the anchor. We are excited to publicly launch the partnership with an announcement in the coming months.”

This just isn’t the primary time Minor League Baseball has been mentioned within the Cape Fear. In truth, Wilmington briefly had a minor league group.

In 2001, the Los Angeles Dodgers introduced a minor league group to Wilmington. The Wilmington Waves have been a low-A group that performed their house video games at Brooks Field on UNCW’s campus. The franchise solely lasted for a yr.

10 years later, one other group tried to strike a deal to construct a baseball stadium in downtown Wilmington. In 2012, the Atlanta Braves and Mandalay Baseball got here to Wilmington to debate a proposal, which included a taxpayer-funded stadium for a Braves MiLB group.

Developers then labored on a personal financing plan, which included a proposal from Trask Land Company to assist finance the undertaking, nevertheless it by no means got here to fruition. The stadium would have been constructed alongside the Cape Fear River the place Live Oak Pavilion is now situated.

As for this newest proposal, REV Entertainment, Brunswick County, and the Town of Leland are planning a information convention for late February or early March to share extra particulars on the undertaking.

This is a growing story. We will proceed to maintain you up to date.